Dear Colleagues,

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has already evolved into an epidemic in developing countries, and especially in the western world. It is well-known that diabetic patients have a 2- to 4-fold higher risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Moreover, the presence of DM remarkably increases the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with established CVDs despite the administration of optimum pharmaceutical therapy. The re-vascularization procedures in coronary and peripheral arteries are characterized by a higher incidence of complications in patients with DM than their non-diabetic counterparts. Therefore, there is still an increasing need to develop and apply more effective medications for primary and secondary prevention of CVDs (ischemic and non-ischemic) in the DM population. 

The aim of the present Special Issue is to attract more than 10 high-quality papers that focus on drugs with potentiality to contribute to CVD prevention and treatment in diabetic patients. Those drug candidates may be substances that target several aspects of pathophysiological mechanisms of CVDs or may comprise therapeutic regimes of other, non-cardiovascular diseases, with potential expansion of their indications to CVDs. Among all, established and novel, especially gene-oriented, lipid-lowering agents remain the cornerstone of prevention and treatment of ischemic CVDs. Medicinal chemistry has introduced technological and conceptual innovations with wide potential application in CVDs. In this Special Issue, we also expect manuscripts providing evidence or summarizing the expanding cardiovascular benefits of current anti-diabetic medications, such as sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors, or of candidate drugs. The anti-inflammatory agents and immunomodulators used in auto-immune diseases have opened a new era in the pharmaceutical treatment of patients with CVDs. In addition to this, other drugs targeting the main pathophysiological mechanisms of myocardial or vascular remodeling, such as the inhibition of myocardial fibrosis or vascular wall inflammatory infiltration, respectively, are also quite promising. Finally, herbal medicine remains a very promising source of drug candidates and requires further investigation. These taken together, there is an increasing number of drugs that could serve effectively in the primary and secondary prevention of CVDs in DM in order to improve the survival and the quality of life of diabetic patients.

Dr. Nikolaos Kadoglou
Guest Editor

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• diabetes mellitus
• lipid lowering
• anti-diabetic drugs
• hypercholesterolemia
• hypertriglyceridemia
• PCSK9
• SGLT-2
• immunomodulators
• gene therapy
• anti-inflammatory drugs
• regenerative medicine
• herbal medicine